The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Osteospermum plant botanically known as Osteospermum ecklonis and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Balserdalav’.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Arroyo Grande, Calif. during August 2003. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Osteospermum cultivars that are freely flowering with unique inflorescence coloration and a freely branching, compact and upright growth habit.
The female (seed) parent of the new cultivar was ‘Balserpurp’, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 16,477, characterized by its deep purple-colored ray florets, dark green-colored foliage, and a compact, upright mounded growth habit. The male (pollen) parent of the new cultivar was unknown. The new Osteospermum was discovered and selected by the inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated open-pollination during December 2003 in a controlled environment at Arroyo Grande, Calif.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since December 2003 at Arroyo Grande, Calif. and West Chicago, Ill. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.